


Nobody bullies my Valera!

by StellanFan (yankeetooter)



Category: Chernobyl (TV 2019)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 09:54:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yankeetooter/pseuds/StellanFan
Summary: Young Valoris one-shot





	Nobody bullies my Valera!

**Author's Note:**

> Because why work on all your waiting fanfics when you can start another story?
> 
> Also, I took major liberties with the Komsomol stuff. I have no idea how meetings worked or if Valery or Boris were officers.

The Komsomol group was having their monthly senior officer meeting. Normally, Valery Legasov would not have even been there as he was just the secretary for the local chapter, but one of the officers, a Comrade Shcherbina, had asked him to attend to contribute his input on the upcoming May Day Festivities. 

Valery entered the room, rather intimidated by the Komsomol officers. He looked awkwardly around until one of them, a tall handsome guy, gestured for him to sit across from him.

The meeting started, but it seemed like it was over before it really began. The guy at the head of the table asked Comrade Shcherbina (oh, that's who the tall drink of water was!) to give a brief report on the preparations. Valery had helped prepare for a few other May Day celebrations and he knew how much work was involved. Apparently, the senior officers had no idea about this though, as, after Shcherbina's brief report, the guy in charge pronounced everything was well in hand and adjourned the meeting.

"No!" Valery surprised himself by shouting out while banging on the table. Everyone looked his way in shock.

"Comrade Legasov, if you have other details that need to be addressed, you can talk to me later." That tall drink of water was a bitter draught after all!

"Please, may I explain?"

But everyone just got up and walked away, talking amongst themselves. Tall drink of water slapped Valery companionably on the back as he walked past, leaving Valery sitting in the empty meeting room.

_________________________________

"Tell me how to solve differential equations!" Shcherbina barked at Valery. Valery cringed. Shcherbina, an up-and-coming student who had aparachtchik written all over him, was a model student... except in the higher maths and sciences. Valery, as a star pupil, had been assigned as his tutor.

Valery was okay with this. Shcherbina was a good student and a quick learner, although he was rather gruff sometimes. But today Shcherbina was very agitated. There was an upcoming exam and he felt very insecure about his chances of getting a good grade.

Valery wasn't having a good day either, to put it mildly. The group of bullies who had made him their favorite target had caught up to him behind one of the buildings earlier. Normally, Valery avoided such dangerous areas, but he needed a cigarette so badly after classes that he had risked sneaking behind the building. When his tormentors found him they beat him rather soundly and Valery had bruises on his ribs and back from the beating he had taken. Valery had gone to one of the teachers to complain, but was simply told he should try harder to get along with his fellow students. After all, the professor told him, we are all Comrades, are we not?

So when Shcherbina barked at him, he almost snapped. Shcherbina expected him to just explain differential equations in ten words or less, a challenge even for Valery, who was showing promising signs of becoming a professor as well as a scientist.

"It's not that simple!" Valery said, unusually exasperated with his student.

Boris snapped, "Tell me how differential equations work, or I'll... I'll...!" He grabbed Valery by the shoulder more roughly than he meant to, a shoulder bruised not so many hours ago. 

Valery winced and tried to get out of Boris' grasp. He was like a cat avoiding a bath. Boris, seeing Valery's distress let go. "What? That couldn't have hurt!"

Valery looked down, his cheeks reddening.

_What is wrong with him? I_ _ really didn't grab him that hard. This is not the same guy who banged on the table the other day!_

Boris raised his hand placatingly to get Valery to calm down, but Valery flinched violently. 

"Valery?" A look of shock came into Valery's eyes. _Had Shcherbina just called him by his first name?_

Losing patience with Valery's skittishness, which made no sense to him, Shcherbina took Valery's shoulders in his hands, firmly but gently. When Valery winced again, Shcherbina had had enough. Wrapping an arm around Valery to keep him from running off, he deftly undid the top buttons of Valery's shirt. Pulling back the shirt revealed the black and blue bruises on Valery's shoulder. Frowning, Boris removed Valery's shirt completely and lifted up his undershirt. Valery's back and sides had more bruises than bare skin and he was practically sobbing and trying to pull away.

Boris looked at him in horrified shock. _Who was beating up on Valery? _Seeing how embarrassed Valery was, Shcherbina carefully replaced his shirt and undershirt and rebuttoned him up.

"Who is it, Valery?" But Valery only hung his head in shame and shook his head. "Okay, okay. Come on, let's go get dinner."

When Boris took the shortcut behind the nearest building, Valery almost lost his nerve. But Shcherbina's presence made him feel safe. But then...

Brukhanov and Fomin, two of the bullies from earlier came round the corner. Seeing Valery they began taunting him mercilessly. They didn't take Shcherbina into account as he did not typically hang around with Valery's type. He might even join in, given half the chance.

"I hear you've been saying dangerous things, Legasov, very dangerous things. Apparently, Comrade Shcherbina, Legasov here has been falsely accusing us of beating up on him! Can you believe it? Can't even handle his own issues and makes up stories to get us in trouble!"

Shcherbina looked over at Valery. Valery was looking back at him, a pleading look in his eyes. "Help me, please!" that look said. Boris gave a barely perceptible nod and turned to the other two.

"You say, Legasov here is making up stories. Why did I see bruises on his back? Bruises would indicate that someone's been beating on him, an offense punishable by expulsion!"

Brukhanov turned to Fomin. "Why did Comrade Shcherbina see bruises on Legasov's back?". Fomin shrugged. " You must be mistaken Comrade Shcherbina because...."

Nothing else came from either Brukhanov or Fomin. Shcherbina came up to them and clouted both of them on the head, hard. Brukhanov staggered, his head ringing. Fomin was already running as fast as he could away from the situation. Brukhanov started to say something else smart when Boris sucker-punched him. Reeling he ran off after Fomin.

Boris turned and saw young GRU officer Pikalov standing there, shaking his head at Boris. He pointed towards the Administrative building, sympathy and duty warring in his eyes. Boris and Valery had no choice but to precede him to the main office, Valery hanging his head once again. They would be expelled for sure!

It turned out that Scherbina had a bit of clout, even as a young student. His father was well-known, and so they were not expelled, but instead had to clean up after meals for the next thirty days. Leaving the building, Boris turned to Valery. 

"Who ever thought we'd be stuck cleaning up others' messes together, eh?"

Valery shook his head at Boris. " I thought for sure we'd be expelled, Comrade Shcher..." A hand on his wrist stopped him mid-sentence. 

"Boris." Shcherbina corrected him. "Call me, Boris.". Valery nodded, touched by Boris' intimacy. 

"At any rate, it would seem we've gotten off easy, eh, Valery?"


End file.
